Judge orders US to release records on imprisonment

A federal judge in Manhattan has ordered the government to release information on the treatment of detainees held at military bases or other facilities overseas, including official policies and records requested months ago by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) under the Freedom of Information Act.

The judge, Alvin Hellerstein of the US District Court in Manhattan, signed the order on Tuesday. It was made public on Wednesday and was hailed as a victory by the ACLU, which originally sought the information last October.

In June the organization and various other civil liberties groups filed a lawsuit against the Defense Department, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, among other agencies, demanding the release of the information.

Hellerstein gave the government until next Monday to release about 70 documents. It must also produce a log with explanations for documents that it claims are exempt from release, that cannot be located or that will be produced after the deadline.

Beyond the documents they have specified, the civil liberties groups say there are hundreds of papers that probably fit within the scope of the request but that they do not know enough about to identify.

By Aug. 30, Hellerstein wrote, the government and the civil liberties union are to present a joint plan for processing such information, and in early September the court will hold a conference with the parties to resolve any remaining issues.

"We filed this request almost a year ago now, before the Abu Ghraib scandal broke," said Jameel Jaffer, the ACLU's lead lawyer on the case. "We are concerned that the ongoing secrecy around the government's detainee and interrogation policy is something that's enabling abuse to continue."

"We want the chance to correct the policies if they are inconsistent with international or domestic law," he added.